Tried a comic shop raffle out of boredom, ended up with a grail book I never chased

Last Saturday I stopped by a shop in Portland just to kill time before a job site walk. They were doing a $5 raffle for a wall of unbagged back issues, some pretty beat up. I threw in a tenner for two tickets, not expecting anything. Dude called my number for the third pick and I grabbed a random bronze age book with a torn corner. Turns out it was a first appearance of a character I didn't even know had a first solo issue. Sold it on eBay for $220 two days later. I never bothered with raffles because I figured the good stuff always gets skimmed by regulars. Now I'm wondering if I should hit up every shop that runs these things or if that was just pure luck. Anyone else ever won something decent from a comic raffle or is this a one time fluke?

2 comments

2 Comments

carter.julia4d ago

Is it weird how sometimes the universe just throws you a bone when you're not even looking? I mean, it kind of reminds me of how garage sales work. You go to a hundred boring ones and find nothing, but that one random stop on a Sunday ends up having a vintage lamp or a box of records worth way more than the asking price. It's like the good stuff only shows up when you're not obsessing over it. That doesn't mean every raffle is a winner, but I bet the regulars don't have some magic system, they just show up more often. So yeah, hit a few more if it's fun and cheap, but don't stress over the letdowns, that's the way she goes.

maxp684d ago

Ah man, I gotta disagree with you there. I've had way too many Sundays where I showed up to like ten garage sales in a row and came home with nothing but a sunburn and a bag of regret. The whole "good stuff finds you" thing only works if you're already lucky, and I'm not. I've tried the "just show up more" angle and it just means I've spent more money on gas and overpriced junk I didn't need. Maybe the regulars you're talking about have a better eye or a better neighborhood, but for me, it's mostly about timing and dumb luck, not some magical vibe.